Perfectionism, which has an important place and contribution in a person's life and academic success, when does it harm an individual? Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan drew attention to the fact that unhealthy perfectionism, which lacks balance, invites many negativities in an individual's life, especially health problems, among other areas. According to Prof. Dr. Tarhan, in healthy perfectionism, an individual focuses on the positive; whereas in unhealthy perfectionism, they blame themselves, feel shame, and see themselves as worthless. Tarhan also added that unhealthy perfectionism is one of the side effects of modern life.
One of the Side Effects of Modern Life is ‘Unhealthy Perfectionism”
Üsküdar University Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, stated that perfectionism is a frequently encountered condition in clinical practice. He noted that despite perfectionism causing many diseases, it is also a very important factor in a person's life success and academic achievement. Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan also emphasized that attention should be paid to unhealthy perfectionism.
Perfectionism brings success if managed in a healthy way
Stating that in healthy perfectionism, a person's thoughts about themselves are healthy and these individuals have high standards, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Just as a person has their own standards regarding themselves and life, they also have professional standards, and standards in close relationships and experiences. Having high standards indicates a person's perfectionism. When these standards are high, a person needs to manage their time well. Being able to do things on time is healthy perfectionism. It is very important to be able to do the right thing, at the right time, and in the right way. If a person carries out perfectionism in a healthy way, they become successful. Many successful people have perfectionism in their background. Since the capitalist system is a success and project-oriented system, it strongly encourages people towards perfectionism.”
If perfectionism is not managed well, diseases emerge
Noting that perfectionistic individuals, if they are passionate about success and cannot manage perfectionism well, easily fall into depression, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Depression emerges very easily, or psychosomatic diseases such as stomach and intestinal problems arise because these individuals' brains constantly secrete stress hormones. Everyone has a target organ for stress hormones. Some experience stomach spasms. Some have muscle contractions, intestinal issues, skin allergies, headaches, affected heart rhythm, high blood pressure, and palpitations. When we examine these as personality traits, we see that they are perfectionistic personalities, but this is unhealthy perfectionism.”
Healthy perfectionists focus on the positive
Stating that healthy perfectionistic individuals do not live focused on the negative, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “These individuals see both the negative and the positive. They live focused on the positive. They do not aim for perfection. They aim to do their best and to manage time in the best possible way. They can be forgiving towards themselves regarding their flaws.”
Emotional constipation emerges
Noting that in unhealthy perfectionism, a person does not forgive their own flaws, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “They constantly blame themselves, feel shame, and see themselves as worthless. Suicide cases are very common among unhealthy perfectionists, and most of these individuals are obsessed with flawlessness. In fact, in some cases of perfectionism, a condition we call emotional constipation emerges. How does it happen? People suppress their emotions. They don't project emotions outwardly. They don't use words of appreciation, praise, or approval. They are also emotionally cruel towards themselves. They cannot read their own emotions. These individuals are misunderstood. Sometimes a perfectionist plays a strong role to achieve their goal, they are quite cheerful, but storms are raging inside. From the outside, they make others say, ‘You are so perfectionistic, so successful, such a good person,’ but it's not like that inside.”
Getting caught up in details leads to mistakes
Stating that if a person's expectation of perfection is realistic, it leads that person to success, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “If perfectionism is not realistic, it leads the person to failure. Let me give a concrete example: it is said that success is in the details, but the devil is also in the details. How is success in the details? If you have goal-oriented perfectionism, if you have goal-oriented meticulousness, this will lead you to success. But if you dwell too much in your mind on issues completely unrelated to the goal, such as ‘why is this crooked on the table while heading towards the goal, why is this here,’ then the situation of the devil in the details emerges. This leads the person to make mistakes and misdirects them. These types of people are those who constantly have high anxiety.”
In unhealthy perfectionism, a person is always on alert
Stating that generalized anxiety disorder is very common in perfectionistic individuals, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Because these individuals can never relax, they are always on alert. If something drops on the floor, they jump. If the TV volume is too high, they become uneasy. They can also be bothered by sounds and noise. This is also unhealthy perfectionism.”
They can experience fear of being penniless
Noting that despite perfectionistic individuals having high ambition to earn, they cannot think healthily about investment, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “They are filled with thoughts aimed at protecting what they possess and certain fears. They experience the fear of being penniless. Sometimes, despite saving money and owning wealth, they live in poverty. These individuals are people who worked very hard in their time but became status quo-oriented due to the fear of loss, and they now stop growing. This is also the reason many family businesses disintegrate. They miss many innovations.”
A true perfectionist sees criticism as a gift!
Noting that a perfectionistic person is a narcissist if intolerant of criticism, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “True perfectionists see criticism as a gift. They think, ‘The person criticizing me is helping me.’ They take the criticism, examine it, and if the criticism is justified, they correct their mistake; otherwise, they continue on their way. Perfectionists with high ego and anxiety, who are obsessive, do not live long. They encounter many psychosomatic diseases at an early age. Due to stress hormones, cancer cells start early because the immune system is suppressed.”
Unhealthy perfectionism is one of the side effects of modern life
Noting that unhealthy perfectionism is one of the side effects of the competitive life brought by civilization, technology, and modernism, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “While high living standards and high expectations encourage perfectionism, these do not increase the happiness score of modern people. To increase the happiness score, positive psychology has begun to be seen in the Western world. Positive psychology, which we taught as a compulsory course in 2013 as a university, began to be taught as a course in reputable universities around the world years after us. Therefore, humanity is moving towards correcting the complications experienced due to the capitalist system's strong encouragement of competitiveness and perfectionism. In Turkey, we are resting on Anatolian wisdom. Let's not be lazy, let's not criticize perfectionism. It is a very important thing that leads to success. Let's establish centers of excellence. But let's do it in the form of healthy perfectionism.”